In this tutorial, I will show you the process used to Create Fiery Dragon Ravaging Mountain Village Scene in Photoshop. We will use a photo of a metal dragon display in a museum and make it alive and breath fire. We will also create a mountain village scene from several stock images. Have a try!
The PSD file of this tutorial is available via the PSD Vault VIP members area.
Here is a preview of the final effect I have for this tutorial: (click to enlarge)
PSD Vault VIP Membership
You can download the PSD File for this tutorial via the VIP Members Area for only $6.95/Month (or less)! You will not only get this PSD File, but also 200+ other PSD Files + Extra Goodies + Exclusive Photoshop tutorials there. Signup now and get exclusive!
OK Let’s get started!
To complete this tutorial, you will need the following stocks:
Step 1
Create a new document sized 1440px * 720px with black background. Load the mountain stock image into Photoshop and select the top left side of the mountain indicated below:
Copy and paste the selection to our document. Adjust its layer size with the free transform tool to fit the size of our canvas, then use a soft eraser to fade the edges as shown below:
Apply the following adjustment layers as clipping masks to this mountain layer:
Black and White
Levels
Curves
and here is the effect so far:
Step 2
We will add another piece of the mountain stock onto our canvas. Select this piece shown below from the right side of the mountain stock image:
Copy and paste the selection to our document. Place the layer on the right and reduce its size. Then use a soft eraser to fade the top edges:
Add the following adjustment layer as clipping masks for this new mountain layer:
Black and white
Levels
Curves
and here is the effect so far:
Step 3
We will start working on the dragon in this step. Load the dragon stock image into Photoshop and select the dragon:
Copy and paste the selection to our document. Reduce its layer size and rotate it a bit counter clockwise. This will make the dragon look like it’s descending from the sky:
Use a big soft eraser to fade the head of the dragon, and its claws:
Add the following adjustment layers as clipping masks to this dragon layer:
Black and White
Levels
Curves
and here is the effect so far:
Step 4
We will add fire to the dragon in this step. Load the fire stock image into Photoshop and select the fire:
Copy and paste the selection to our document and reduce its size. Use the Warp Tool to compress it a bit and fit it to the dragon’s mouth:
Select some smaller fire particles from the fire stock image:
Copy and paste the selection to our document, set its layer blending mode to “Color Dodge”:
Duplicate this small fire layer a few times and scatter them around the canvas, make sure you adjust the size of each duplicated layer to ensure variety:
Step 5
Use a combination of cloud brush and cloud filter, add some cloud overlay for our image: (Make sure you set the opacity and flow of the brush to around 40%, so you don’t over-paint the canvas)
Paint some cloud around the dragon as well:
Step 6
We will add some flying fire particles around the canvas to make our design more epic. Go back to the fire stock image, create a new layer and use a particle brush to paint on the new layer:
Select this newly painted particle layer:
Go back to the background layer, and Ctrl + C to copy the selection:
Paste the selection to our document, then apply the following motion blur filter:
and you will have some flying particle effect like this:
Step 7
We’re almost done! For final touches, we can flatten the image, duplicate the background layer, and use apply the following Oil Paint (Photoshop CS6 or above) filter:
Add the following adjustment layer on top to fine-tune its colour and contrast:
Selective Color
Brightness and Contrast
and here is my final effect: (click to enlarge)
That’s it for this tutorial! Hope you enjoy it and find it useful. Till next time, have a great day!